The Mac and the Photographer

Today I was thinking of the mac and photographers. What does the mac have for photographers? Are there advantages to being on the mac? I want to really look into this. I have been using mac OS x for the last 4 or 5 years. I have really enjoyed it. I bought my back when I was in between film and digital setups. It has been a wonderful experience. In the next couple posts I would like to spend some time looking at the mac and what it has to offer photographers, photo enthusiasts...you know what I mean (shutterbug!).....

Shapes & Color

I was waiting for my wife at the bus stop just after sunset, really bored, tired and tired of waiting...so I began looking around and I noticed a light on in one of the apartment buildings near the bus stop. But by the time I set up my camera the light was turned off. So I just turn my camera to the right to take this shot which is kinda interesting.

Do as I say not as I do...

It is important to stop wasting time when you have a dream. Most times the wrong job is the greatest waste of time. I remember a few years ago whilst talking to a student, she asked me what I wanted to do as a career. To her question I replied, "Photography." Her reply was a pointed question, "So what are you doing here?"

This is a very good questions to ask yourself and to answer. Sometimes like me we come up with endless reasons why we should be where we are. Most of them as excuses. Even right now I have loads of them. I am more fearful of taking risks than I was 5 years ago, when I left my crappie job to follow my dream of completing a project for our local jazz festival here. I did not become a millionaire with that project ( well I did make a few thousands, though it did not cover the cost) but it was well worth it.

It is important to take the plunge. Not without thinking things through, though. Cause most times once you cross that bring there's no coming back. Make sure that your dream is well thought out. The following questions are important: How will I do it? What do I expect from it? Are my expectation reasonable? How will this affect the persons involved (wife, family, etc)?

But do take the plunge. The experience will make you a better wiser person and will bring you closer, than you are right now, to your dream (Whatever that is).

As for me...I know that all this is true but for some reason...I'm still teetering on the edge. Don't worry, I am jumping off soon.

oh!!... The image of the little girl is another sample of my bounced flash photos. I am running out of white walls.

Keep your spirits up...

I have found nothing helps to keep you going as trying something new. It revitalizes your energy. Try different things whether they be a new technique, a new method, different locations, different people or just a subject that you have never thought of shooting before.

These days I am bouncing my flash off every white wall or ceiling I can find. The results have been interesting.

Apple Leopard

Apple Mac OS X is a great operating system for photographers. I have been using it for the past 3 to 4 years. You should check it out...(yes I am an apple fan boy, not embarrassed to say so).

Apple has an online seminar on why this OS is the best for photographers...go here

Cool!

Tips for marketing your photography

Two of the best things you can do to sell your photography are be nice to people and meet people's needs. 

Point in case: I don't own a studio. But I do portrait photography (among the other types of photography I do). I was shooting some landscapes on campus when some of the campus staff came to me asking whether I could take photos for them. They just wanted the photos to put as wallpapers on their computers at work. I did it for them (giving them appropriate resolution images). I am still taking pictures for these ladies. I was nice to them and I made a customer base at the campus.  I could have said no...I don't do that kinda stuff. Or charged them for a full resolution image but that probably would have limited the amount of work  I would have gotten from them.

Another example: I was wondering what I could do to get jobs. Which persons needed photographs? I realize that many needs are not being met, even with a gazillion (might not be in the dictionary) photographers around the place. So make calls. Snoop around a little and you could be the photographer meeting these needs.

A third idea is to GET OUT AND SHOOT. If you don't have jobs work on your personal projects. People who are not working don't get jobs. And when you are not working get the images out there. 

Cool Portable strobe sight

I have never liked flash.... Ok so I pretended not to like it... Truth is it seemed like a mountain.  A few weeks ago I found a site that changed all that. http://www.strobist.com From following this site I have changed from a natural-light-guy to a flash-freak. So much so that I am about to spend $319 to purchase additional equipment to take my flash off camera when I use it. Right now I am using as much bounced flash as I can while I wait to make my order.

Sunday Morning Mountain

I went out early last Sunday morning and decided to walk with my camera. This is what the morning had to give.

iPhoto '08 rocks

I am still drooling about Aperture, which I can't run on my 12 inch G4 because of the video card. However, I've installed iPhoto '08 and it rocks. Though not as advanced as Aperture, it still has good enough features to be used by a photographer (of course it still does not beat having Aperture). This version of iPhoto comes with some niffy features which I should probably get into in another post.

Pre-iPhoto'08 I was using Canon's Digital Photo Pro. While this is great software, the workflow is not as smooth as with iPhoto especially when it comes to keywording, which it seems Canon has not spent much time on (or maybe if it is there I have not found it). So after your collection has grown into a couple thousand or even hundred photos it becomes more difficult to find things. Keywording makes finding things so much faster and so much less of a headache. So until I get Aperture, I am sticking with iPhoto.

Setting portable flash to manual

In all my years doing photography as a hobby, I have probably used flash in manual about 4 times. Of late the flash has been set to manual and left there. Total control is cool. I am spending much time on the strobist blog and learning so much about lighting. I just need to take that flash off camera now. I bought a canon EF-430 ex speedlite. It's cool but I should have added the money and bought a 580 ex. Oh, and why did canon not put a pc terminal on this flash. This just does not make any sense. Now I am forced into either of two purchases: the canon off-camera cord/cable or hotshoe to sync cord adaptor and pc cord. Looking into the prices right now.

In the mean time I am doing light modifiers for my flash. Working on the grid spot made with straws right now ( I really need to get this flash off camera). I will post pics of my mods soon.

More things I shot this year

No blogging for almost 1 year

Well, the year is almost over. The last time I posted something here was in Dec 2006. Wow! A lot of stuff has happened since. Got my first magazine publication - 10 photos published in a tourism magazine. The money came in handy. OVer the year I bought a new lens-the canon EF 24-70 mm f2.8L lens. It was worth every dime spent on it. I also got a portable flash and a few other little odds and ends. Considering purchasing at least one more flash (580 EX II) and a two lenses (85 mm f1.8 and 200 mm f2.8L).

I had a really interesting experience this year. I had been focusing on nature photography and ignoring portraiture for many years. As of this year, I am focusing on shooting portraits. I realize that it is a very good source of income for a photographer.

I also made the decision to purchase wide aperture lenses and 'L' series lenses as much as possible. I believe they are worth the investment as they will last for years and years to come and have a good resale value. I came to this conclusion when for no conceivable reason to me, my kit lens that came with my 20D stop working properly. I could not use apertures smaller than the maximum aperture. This led to me using my cousins 'L' series lenses. These are beautiful. The image quality is amazing.

I am also spending a lot of time on strobist.com learning about lighting and learning how to do some of the lighting mods. Cool site. Please do check it out.

Some things I've shot this year: